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Thursday, December 03, 2009

AUDREY HEPBURN AUCTION

In case you hadn't heard, the Audrey Hepburn auction will take place on December 8th in London. Right now 360 pieces of clothing, accessories, momentos, sketch and photos are on display in Paris. Somehow this Dutch-British yet Belgian born (American) actress epidomizes every fantasy we have about Paris. Granted she made quite a few films set in Paris, so with good reason:Paris - When It SizzlesTwo for the RoadHow to Steal a MillionCharadeBreakfast at Tiffany'sFunny FaceSabrinaAnd granted she became the canvas for Parisien designer, Givenchy to paint many of his finest creations on. They were both mad for each other. She was his muse, he was her best friend and co-creator of her inimitable style.The collection of pieces on sale are cast-offs given by Hepburn to a long-time teen-age friend of many years, Tanja Star-Busmann.The two met in London when Tanja was 15 years old and Hepburn 20 – just before her career took off."I was perhaps her first unofficial fan – writing letters to her from boarding school and receiving replies," Star-Busmann, who is now in her 70s, wrote in the auction catalog. In addition to letters – some of which are to be sold – Hepburn also regularly gave her young confidant her hand-me-downs, which became increasingly fabulous as her star rose". "Over the years, a cavalcade of boxes filled to the brim ... arrived at my door," wrote Star-Busmann. "Unpacking them was always like Xmas all over."

I read somewhere that Hepburn's clothes closets were practically the size of football fields...

And every single piece of clothing was color-coded and meticulously, if not manically, organized.

Sigh...my own closet is everyone's nightmare.

Well it's perfectly understandable that Audrey would have to make room for new additions is it not?

There's always a dog in the story. "Famous", Audrey's adorable Yorkie turns up in many of the fashion shots in the auction...

Here are 4 "Famous" Yorkie pups waiting for Audrey to finish her shoot in Paris...I was very lucky to see Audrey Hepburn win the Society of Lincoln Center award at a gala tribute in 1991. She was every bit as gracious and lovely as you can imagine...

If you haven't, you must see Billy Wilder's "Love in the Afternoon." Hepburn, Cooper, Chevalier, the Hotel Ritz...how much better can it get? The opening scene shows Chevalier spying on Cooper in the Ritz from the top of the Vendome column. Priceless.

I LOVED and still do love Audrey Hepburn. She just ooozed charm and style. I have most of the movies you mentioned. Lucky you to have seen her in person. She died much much to young. Thanks for this post today.

I adore Audrey, thank you for such a lovely post about her! Do you mind if I also share on my blog? (crediting you of course ;-)I'd love to see her clothing in person. She has such a lovely spirit I think that why we love her so much.

Great post about Audrey....such style that woman had....now I realize why...when you actually name the designers she was wearing.As I look at some of the cuts of clothing on your post,,,I see them reappearing here in Munich in the fashion of today. Real style never goes out of fashion I guess.Love your blog!!!

Some years back I was asked by the producers of the PBS series Great Gardens of the World, which Miss Hepburn stared in, to have a rose named for her. After several snail mail communications we finally spoke on the phone to find out what kind and color of rose she would like to carry her name. We finally decided on a lovely pale pink Hybrid Tea rose even though she would have chosen a white, if a good one would have been available. The 'Audrey Hepburn' rose was introduced in 1991 and now is only available in one nursery in The Netherlands and two in Japan.

Carol thanks so much for digging up those pics and posting them! I had a little look around earlier in the week with no luck. Love that tasseled hat. Who but Audrey could pull it off? How bad would it be to have Givenchy as your best buddy?! And you so lucky to see her in the flesh. Managed something like that w/ Jeanne Moreau (almost as good) at the AF in NYC. She had a terrible cold tho' and cut short her presentation! Dommage. Milles mercis!

I'm a huge Audrey Hepburn fan. I remember her saying that during the war, she and her mother ate tulip bulbs out of the ground, she was so starving, so she really remembered the CARE packages that were dropped for people--it was what influenced her to become active with UNICEF. She knew the impact it had on her own life. I have always loved her--such a kind, dear soul, and absolutely beautiful, to boot. (Joe's daughter-in-law often reminds me of Audrey.)